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Old 04-14-2011, 10:46 PM   #1
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Default Ginger ale: do I need to peel the ginger?

Because it sure is a PITA. I want to start a new batch tonight. I love the stuff. I go crazy with the ginger; using abut 3 times what Alton Brown recommends.

I'm wondering if I can just dump ginger into a food processor and save a lot of time.


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Old 04-14-2011, 10:51 PM   #2
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Pretty sure you don't want the rind/peel/outside layer of the root in what you're making... Every application of fresh ginger, that I've ever seen has called for it to be peeled first...

Found the recipe on the Food Network web site...


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Old 04-14-2011, 11:01 PM   #3
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Yes, you'll want to peel the ginger. If you use a big piece, it's easy to peel. Worse than peeling it is grating it!
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Old 04-15-2011, 04:00 AM   #4
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I don't think I had any problem leaving the peel on. I did give it a wash and sliced off some of the more dried out areas, but just tossed it all into a juicer, and heated/strained the ginger solids before adding the juice in towards the end. Didn't have any problem, but I haven't yet done a comparison between skin on or off.

For cooking, I and my family rarely peel ginger for cooking purposes, and we use lots of ginger in our food. (As in almost every day.)

Younger gingers have thinner skin by the way.
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Old 04-15-2011, 04:05 AM   #5
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A spoon works well for peeling ginger, better than a knife, especially if it's fresh. Grapefruit spoons have a bit of an extra edge as well.
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Old 04-15-2011, 07:55 AM   #6
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if you have a juicer you can juice whole unpeeled ginger, i do this regularly for ginger beer. you will get really small particles of ginger coming through, these can be strained with a coffee filter if absolutely necessary but i never do this. you won't get any skin pieces coming through the juicer.
if you are blending and then straining off the ginger then i think you should use it whole, as i personally don't think that the skin influences the taste at all. it is just unpleasant to get chunks of it in your mouth. differing opinions on that issue are welcome of course!
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Old 04-15-2011, 01:18 PM   #7
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I just made a batch the other day with it sliced, leaving the skin on. I never though of trimming it off. I also thew it in my hop bag, to not worry about any floaters.
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Old 04-17-2011, 02:26 AM   #8
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I think I'll peel it, just to be safe.
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Old 04-17-2011, 11:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesnsw View Post
A spoon works well for peeling ginger, better than a knife, especially if it's fresh. Grapefruit spoons have a bit of an extra edge as well.
+1... its actually not "that" bad to peel.... just time consuming. A spoon really works.
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Old 04-17-2011, 03:10 PM   #10
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I guess it also depends on what kind of juicer you are using. I'm sure most any mid to high end Juicer can handle it. I use a simple 60 dollar Juicer and I was wondering the same thing. When I tried not peeling it, I got a few chunks of the skin in my juice, so I went back to peeling. If your Juicer can handle it and you don't see any dark chunks in the juice, you should be fine. Just make sure you rinse the ginger thoroughly first.


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